Members of the Charanga's de San Antonio dance along Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-News

Folklorico dancers perform during the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-News

Matthew and Victoria Villarreal play in a room at the Broadway Travelodge by a picture of Weldon Albertson, on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Albertson, who had been attending Fiesta parades and watching from an adjacent room for over 40 years, was unable to attend this year because of health issues. He lives in Houston. The Villarreal children, whose family also traditionally has watched the parade from the Travelodge, have known Albertson all of their lives.

Ara Celi runs to escape a confetti ambush during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Ara Celi runs through a confetti ambush during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Las Chrangas moves down Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

The "Most Interesting Man in the World" waves at the crowd on Broadwya during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Roberta Cancio gets blasted with confetti as her group, the San Antonio Professional Firefighters, scampers down Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

The Longhorn Band moves down Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

An Alzafar Shrine clown shows his boots during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Participants riding a Wing's Veterans vehicle have some fun with the crowd during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Sgt. Major Balderrama leads a veterans group down broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Performers with the San Antonio Marching Band strut down Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Parade participants salute from atop the Wing's Veterans vehicle during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Parade participants enjoy the crowd on Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

A clown waves to the crowd during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

A character with the Toyota contingent stares at the crowd on Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-News

Folklorico dancers perform during the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Gabriel Hack and his sister Ramona Hack throw confetti at paraders during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-News

A tuba player from the Instituto Gomez Palacio in Mexico marches during the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

A dancer with the Toyota team shows off on Broadway during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Mayor Julian Castro moves down Broadway with Leticia Van de Putte during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Lisa Castaneda dances on Broadway with Las Charangas during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Maria Elena Weisser dances in the lead for Las Chrangas during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Maria Elena Weissner dances with Las Charangas during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Maria Elena Weisser dances with Las Charangas during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Matia Elena Weisser dances with Las Charangas during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Margaret Cisneros dances with Destino Danzzar Performance Group during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Maragaret Cisneros spins her lights dancing with Destino Danzzer Performance Group during the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade in downtown San Antonio on April 26, 2014.

Photo By Benjamin Olivo/San Antonio Express-News

The U.S. Band of the West marches in Fiesta Flambeau on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Leezia Dhalla/San Antonio Express-News

The kids are getting antsy but their parents are having a good time over roasted corn, warm turkey legs before the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Mark D. Wilson/San Antonio Express-News

John Zuniga and family have been camped out since 10 a.m. waiting for the start of the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Photo By Mark D. Wilson/San Antonio Express-News

People already in their spots waiting for the start of the Fiesta Flambeau parade on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Some have been here since 7 a.m.

SAN ANTONIO — With skies that remained blessedly rain-free, the 66th annual Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade rolled through downtown on Saturday as tens of thousands came to see the largest illuminated parade in the nation.

The parade highlighted the penultimate day of this year's extended 18-day Fiesta celebration.

Glittering floats, shoe-showing royalty, marching bands and more proceeded majestically along Broadway and other downtown streets as watchers cheered for this most iconic of Fiesta events.

Frosty Claflin, from Boston, travels the country selling trinkets, but this was his first Fiesta.

“I really like the spirit here. It's wonderful,” he said, standing before his towering stands of hats, toys and other tchotchkes.

Just then, a woman walked up with her son, who wanted a plastic sword. How much are they? Seven dollars, Claflin replied.

“Oh man, that's a lot,” the woman said. “Times are hard.”

How much you got, he asked?

Five dollars, she said.

“Here you go, son,” he said, handing over the sword. “God bless you.”

As they walked away, Claflin said, “I do that all night. I just love people.”

Broadway and Fourth Street, 6:30 p.m.

Scoutmaster Emeritus Bill Thom and Troop 351 have been a regular presence at Fiesta for nearly two decades.

“Fiesta Flambeau is our biggest fundraiser every year,” Thom said.

This year, 12 scouts from St. Jerome'sCatholic Church and their new leader, Jason Eittreim, joined Thom on the parade route as torchbearers. Watching their procession was the nearly 250 people who bought seats in the Boy Scouts' reserved seating section for $12 apiece.

The money will help pay for summer camp, which is a huge part of “the history and the heritage” of the Boy Scouts, Eittreim said.

Eagle Scout Tanner Kelly, 19, confessed he was at Fiesta this year because duty called. He spent a good portion of the afternoon helping patrons find seating.

“Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout,” he said.

Broadway and Third Street, 7:05 p.m.

Standing next to San Antonio police officers at this intersection was a group of high school and college students enrolled in Explorers, a training program sponsored by the SAPD.

Their role is to “keep their eyeballs on the crowd” to help manage pedestrian safety and keep the fire lanes clear, said Officer Jesse Lopez, a 24-year SAPD veteran.

The afternoon crowds were relatively quiet, with only one memorable quarrel among revelers eager to reserve the best seat on the parade route.

“I told them that you can all be there or no one gets to be there,” Lopez said.

Abraham Dominguez, 19, has been an Explorer for four years. In that time, one thing has remained consistent: “The feeling of being an officer is the best part. The people, they give you a lot of respect,” he said.

Commerce and St Mary's, 8:20 p.m.

Giselle Munoz was a 9-year-old Girl Scout when she marched down Commerce in her first Fiesta Flambeau parade. More than 30 years later, she's passed the torch to daughter Lily. Beaming with pride, Munoz said Lily, an eighth grade clarinet player at Harris Middle School, was selected to march with the Burbank High School band.

Lily will know where to spot her mom in the crowd because the family has watched the parade dutifully from the intersection of Commerce and St Mary's every year, said Munoz.

“This has always been our spot,” she added. Her friend Sarah Davila said the seating has become something of a family tradition, prompting Munoz and Davila to stake out the area as early as 9 a.m. on parade day.

Both women have built a coalition with the strangers who have faithfully sat near them year after year.

If the other families are the first to arrive at the intersection, they will save seats for Davila because “they remember us,” she said. “We don't know them by name, but we know them by face.”